Life raft



1943- D. B. HIAINS ET AL LIFE RAFT Filed Jan. 2 1942 '2 Sheets$heet lgwua/vvto'b Chm/245s JAM/Mas "a, 0AMEL. B haw v5 awn m gs Nov. 2, 1943.D. B. HAlNS ETAL 2,333,375

LIFE RAFT Filed Jan. 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 Cf/VE/YT I CANVAS 31 ANDDAM/GIL 5, HAM 5.

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Patented Nov. 2, 1943 LIFE RAFT Daniel B. Hains and Charles J. Haines,Trenton,

N. J., assignors to Winner Manufacturing Conipany, Inc., Trenton, N. J.,a corporation of New Jersey Application January 2, 1942, Serial No.425,438

2 Claims.

This invention relates to unsinkable life rafts and, more particularly,to the so-called catamaran type of raft which is usually buoyed by apair of spaced apart parallel metal tanks with a platform supportedthereon and therebetween.

An object of the present invention is to construct a buoyant raft ofthis general type which will support a number of persons in a seatedposition thereon and the upper surfaces of the raft may either be a flatplatform or the center portion between the spaced buoyant members may bedepressed, thus forming seats over the buoyant members.

Another feature of this invention is to construct a raft that isreversible, or in other words, when the raft is thrown overboard, nomatter which side of the raft is uppermost, the passenger holdingplatform or seats are uppermost and out of the water.

Heretofore rafts of this general character have been constructed bymounting a pair of elongated sealed metal chambers on each side of aplatform, but these prior devices have several serious disadvantagesincluding rusting through of the metal float chambers from long exposureon a ships deck and by being completely vulnerable to penetration,either by striking an object when they are being thrown over, or in thecase of present warfare, by being punctured by machine gun or riflefire. It is known that in the present naval warfare many men have losttheir lives because of these inherent disadvantages of life raftssupported by air chambers and it is therefore the salient feature of theinvention to completely avoid this danger as the present construction isunsinkable.

While it is not new to form life-saving equipment, such as buoys, rings,floats, etc., from balsa wood whose remarkable buoyant qualities arewell known, this invention contemplates the forming of a plurality ofhollow balsa wood chambers or floats in such a manner that they will notonly support or buoy the life raft to a greater degree than previousconstructions, but it has been discovered that such balsa wood floats orchambers can be constructed in a manner as to be selfsealing whenpunctured by projectiles.

A still further advantage and object of this invention is to soproportion and construct the balsa wood floats that they have thenecessary structural strength and rigidity and to seal the pores of thebalsa wood in a novel manner to protect the same against absorption ofsea water, exposure, sun and dirt.

A still further object is to so construct the floats and pontoons thateven if a large portion of the float is torn away by artillery fire, theraft will retain a large percentage of its original buoyancy. 1

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a top plan View of an unsinkable catamarantype life raft constructed in accordance with the present invention withthe platform boards across one of the floats removed.

Fig. 2 is" a vertical cross-section taken on' line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through one of the balsa woodfloats.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section taken on line 55 of Fig. 3 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

As before mentioned, the general construction of the life raft issomewhat similar to conventional life rafts in as much as it is providedwith a central platform 5 mounted intermediate of the longitudinal openside cages It! in which are secured a plurality of balsa wood floatchambers I5. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that ifdesirable, the central platform portion 5 may have its surfaces flushwith the top of the float retaining cages H) and also be provided with acentral food and water compartment 20 and hanging hand lines 25.

The combination of the more or less conventional construction of thelife raft per se with the novel and very useful balsa wood floatationchamhers I 5 is the crux of the present invention. In the drawings, thelife raft is provided with two or more pairs of spaced parallel andlongitudinally arranged float chambers l5 and these may be arranged inthe side cages 10 in any suitable manner and held in spaced relation byend boards 25 and side bars 21.

Specifically, each chamber comprises a thick walled balsa woodrectangular six-sided box having a bulkhead or partition 30 thereindividing the long dimension of the box into two air chambers 3i and 32,respectively. Balsa wood is quite soft and of cellular formation andtherefore it is preferable to glue the parts together with a waterproofadhesive in addition to holding the parts together with wooden dowels33. The corners of the float chambers are preferably rounded andthereafter the entire outer surfaces of the chambers are covered orpainted with a tacky, non-drying, rubbery, sealing compound known in thetrade as Hydrotex and manufactured by the Winner Manufacturing Companyof Trenton,

New Jersey. The coating of "Hydrotex is denoted by the numeral 34. Overthe sealing compound 34 there is placed a layer of heavy textile 35which may be canvas or any other close woven fabric. This covering isthen exteriorly covered with a further coat 36 of the tacky, non-drying,sealing compound Hydrotex.

When placed in a liferaft, or other buoyant construction, thesefloatation chambers will not rot or deteriorate; they possess lightnessnot obtailv" able with other materials and their buoyance is w vastlysuperior to metal floats. If machine gun or rifle fire punctures thefloats fihe walls thereof present practidfil ymoxreflstame and theprojectile passes smdrbee cause of the inherent fibrous quality of thewood and the resiliency thereof due to the porous. cell structure, thewood springs"backaftertheprm jectile has passed so that the materialIisipr'actically self-sealing and thus excludes water from passing intothe floats. A'further advantage-is the quick swelling of-the''wood"exterior'o1,"ithe bulletholes when sea water does comein contactwith the pores thereof.

Tests have proven that even when the'whole end of a float is'tornaway,'as*byzartilleryflre, the central bulkheads in eachchambermaintains the air on the other side' thereof and the remaining wood ofthe damaged portion still possesses its natural buoyance and helps tokeep the raft afloat.

What we claim is:

1. A life raft of the catamaran type having spaced apart parallelfloatation chambers and an intermediate platform, said floatationchambers. being rectangular m shapeimd constructed. entirely ,ofzbalsawood bulkheadsvof balsa wood dividing said chambers into a plurality ofcomgpartments, a coating of a tacky, non-drying, rub

bery-like pore sealing compound extending over the entire outer surfaceof the chamber, a fabric covering over said/coating, and an additionalex- =ternaldayer-oi the said coating extending over and'sealingitheriabric covering.

2. A hollowgfinatation chamber of rectangular shape. formedandconsisting of balsa wood walls of substantial thickness, balsa woodbulkheads dividing. said chamber into at least two compartments, acoating of tacky, non-drying, rubberylike, plastic material covering:the ;-entire -opter surface or said chamber,-'a*fabric'eovering-o'rersaid coating, and an externaladditionar layerm! the said. coatingextending, over'andsealing the fabric covering, said coatingpossessingrabrasion resistant qualities, I

DANIEL B. 'HAINS;

CHARLES

